Officer deaths in Dallas add to a growing tally

Brent Thompson, 43, is the first Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer killed in the line of duty. He was one of five officers killed when snipers opened fire on police during a protest against police-involved shootings.

After the ambush killing of an officer at a police station in Prince George's County, Md., in March, Craig Floyd, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, delivered strong words about the climate law enforcement is working in this year.

"The shooting death this past Sunday of Prince George’s County Police Officer Jacai D. Colson was horrific and shocking on many levels," Floyd said. "Just consider the facts. The attack that took Officer Colson’s life occurred at a police station on a Sunday afternoon. He was the 13th officer nationwide killed by gunfire in 2016 — more than triple the number at this time last year.

"This is the fifth time this year that an ambush assault has resulted in the death of a law enforcement officer," Floyd said. "At the current rate, these attacks against our policing professionals will outpace the numbers from 2015 and 2014 when 16 and 13 officers, respectively, were ambushed and killed. These numbers ... strongly point to a growing disrespect for the rule of law in our nation."

The most brutal month for police deaths this year was March with 16, followed by June with 12 and February with 10, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

Even before Thursday's carnage, Texas recorded the most officers killed in 2016 so far with five, followed by Louisiana — where the police shooting of Alton Sterling on Tuesday set the stage for Thursday's protests across the nation — with four.

Fifty of this year's line-of-duty deaths were men. The average age was 38, and the average time of duty was 11 years and three months.

Last year recorded 130 line-of-duty deaths, 39 of which were caused by gunfire, according to the memorial page. Texas again led the nation with 12 deaths. In 2014, there were 145 line-of-duty deaths, 47 from gunfire. That year, New York tallied the most with 26.